2002 – August Releases

Today marks the first day in the Catholic League’s campaign against the Democratic National Committee (DNC). It will continue throughout the fall until such time as the DNC drops its association with an anti-Catholic group, Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC). At issue is the DNC’s listing of CFFC on the organizational link page of its [...]

Catholic League president William Donohue responded today to news reports that Infinity Broadcasting has cancelled the “Opie and Anthony” show: “This is a refreshing example of corporate responsibility. The Catholic League is satisfied with the results of this decision and will now petition the FCC to cease with its investigation of this incident. There is no [...]

Catholic League president William Donohue today addressed the wild reactions to the league’s protest of the “Opie and Anthony” show that graphically described a couple having sex in St. Patrick’s Cathedral on August 15, a holy day in the Catholic Church: “There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that legions of men and [...]

Catholic League president William Donohue today wrote to Sumner Redstone, Chairman and CEO of Viacom, asking him to do something about his company’s apparent disregard for Catholic sensibilities. Viacom owns Infinity Broadcasting and WNEW is an Infinity station: the “Opie and Anthony” show (WNEW) is currently the target of an FCC investigation, triggered by the Catholic [...]

Michael Copps, Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, issued a statement today on the live sex act that occurred in St. Patrick’s Cathedral on August 15 and was broadcast live by an WNEW employee on the “Opie and Anthony” radio show. Copps used strong language in responding to complaints against the station; the Catholic League contacted [...]

Yesterday, New York City Police arrested a man and a woman for having sex in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Also arrested was Paul Mercurio; he provided a detailed description of the sex act on the “Opie and Anthony” radio show. The WNEW radio show (an Infinity Broadcasting outlet) offers a prize to the couple having sex in [...]

On June 26, the Los Angeles Times, along with the Allentown, Pennsylvania daily The Morning Call, mailed a survey to Catholic priests nationwide “with the goal of better understanding the issues and challenges facing the church in America today.” Because the response rate was so low, another mailing was sent on July 25. Many priests have complained to [...]

The September issue of Playboy features an article by an ex-Jesuit priest, Charles J. O’Byrne, on his tortured experience with the Catholic Church. Catholic League president William Donohue couldn’t resist commenting: “When a Catholic priest hates the Catholic Church, it is best that he become a busboy or a bartender. Or at least he ought to bum around [...]

On July 31, the Catholic League issued a news release imploring Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Terry McAuliffe to “act quickly and decisively by removing Catholics for a Free Choice from the DNC’s links of interest” on its website (it was columnist Mark Shields who first broke the issue in late July). Over the past week, [...]